A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the ''
sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a
Hindu and
Jain temples where resides the ''
murti
In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. T ...
'' (idol or icon) of the primary
deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ''Mulnayaka''. Literally the word means "womb chamber", from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
words ''garbha'' for womb and ''griha'' for house. Although the term is often associated with Hindu temples, it is also found in
Jain and
Buddhist temples. Traditionally, in Hinduism only 'priests' (''
pujari'') are allowed to enter this chamber, though in modern practice this is often considerably relaxed.
Architecture
The room has a single entrance, normally facing east to be accessed by the rising sun, and no windows. It is normally square, and at least approximately a
cube
In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. Viewed from a corner it is a hexagon and its net is usually depicted as a cross.
The cube is the on ...
, with the representation of the temple's deity placed in the centre, so that it can be seen by worshippers outside. Relative to the size of the temple, and especially the large tower arising over it, it is a rather small room, and there is no view from below up into the shikhara or tower, which is treated as completely solid, although in fact for structural reasons it very often includes a hollow space.
In the great majority of temples with a tower superstructure, a
shikhara
''Shikhara'' ( IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the '' garbhagriha'' cham ...
(in the north) or
vimana (in the south), this chamber is placed directly underneath it, and the two of them form the main vertical axis of the temple. These together may be understood to represent the axis of the world through
Mount Meru. The garbhagriha is usually also on the main horizontal axis of the temple which generally is an east–west axis. In those temples where there is also a cross-axis, the is generally at their intersection.
Generally the garbhagriha is a windowless and sparsely lit chamber, intentionally created thus to focus the devotee's mind on the tangible form of the divine within it. Entrance to the Hindu garbhagriha is very often restricted to priests who perform the services there, and in temples in active worship (as opposed to historic monuments) normally to Hindus at the least. In Jain temples all suitably bathed and purified Jains are allowed inside.
Hinduism
In the
Dravida style, the garbhagriha took the form of a miniature
vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a
pradakshina
Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path alo ...
around the garbhagriha. The entrance is highly decorated. The inner garbhagriha or shrine became a separate structure, more elaborately adorned over time.
The garbhagriha is normally square and sits on a
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium and harmony as it is representative of a microcosm of the Universe. In the centre is placed the image of the deity.
In some early temples it is not quite square, and in some later ones may be rectangular where more than one deity is worshipped and has an image there.
[Hardy, p. 31, note 5,] There are a very few examples of larger variance; the chamber at
Gudimallam
Gudimallam is a village near Tirupati, located in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh state of India. It is situated about 15 kilometers southeast of Tirupati
Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrat ...
is both semi-circular at the rear, and set below the main floor level of the temple. The famous 7th-century
Durga temple, Aihole
The Durga temple is an early 8th-century Hindu temple located in Aihole, Karnataka, India. Originally dedicated to Surya, it has the most embellished and largest relief panels in Aihole depicting artwork of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and ...
has a rounded
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
at the garbagriha end, which is echoed in the shape of the chamber.
Girbhagriha in Tamil: In Tamil language Girbha griha is called ''karuvarai'' meaning the interior of the sanctumnsanctorum. It is the iner- most of the sanctum and focus of the temple, where the image of the primary deity resides. The word karuarai means "womb chamber". The word' karu' means foetus and arai means a room.
But sometimes, for the temples of feminine deities, the garbagriha is rectangular. For example, in the temple of
Varahi Deula in Chaurasi.
The present structure of most of these temples is a two-storeyed vimana with a square garbhagriha and a surrounding circumambulatory path, an ardha-mandapa and a narrower maha-mandapa.
Notes
References
*Hardy, Adam, ''Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation : the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries'', 1995, Abhinav Publications, , 9788170173120
google books
* George Michell, ''Monuments of India'' (Penguin Guides, Vol. 1, 1989).
External links
{{commons category, Sreekovils
Hindu temple architecture
Architecture in India